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Samuel R.

One of the best things about film is how deeply the art form can move an audience; great movies with powerful stories about courage and perseverance can genuinely influence our lives and motivate us. We’ve made a list of 15 inspiring and uplifting movies you can watch right now on Netflix. We hope these highly recommended films will lift your spirits and fuel optimistic, productive thinking.

Colin Firth in 'The King's Speech'

1. The King’s Speech (2010)

This rousing, crowd-pleasing period piece stars Colin Firth as England’s Prince Albert, who must overcome a speech impediment as he ascends the throne as King George VI. Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter co-star. The King’s Speech grossed over $414 million worldwide against a $15 million budget— and itcleaned house at the Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. It was nominated for twelve Oscars in total.

The King’s Speech is a tribute to the value of hard work and determination, and the power of believing in yourself.

Theatrical poster for 'Moonlight' (A24)

2. Moonlight (2016)

By the end of Moonlight‘s unforgettable three acts, we’ve witnessed nothing less than the birth and salvation of a human soul.

Defiantly eschewing sentimentality and hand-holding, director and screenwriter Barry Jenkinstells this story of light and love in seemingly hopeless circumstances with broad strokes, gritty reality, and some of the most intoxicating audiovisual loveliness on record.

Moonlight won three Academy Awards, including a Best Picture victory in one of the biggest live-television blunders of all time. Moonlight will stand alongside the likes of Casablanca, The Godfather and select others as a Best Picture winner for the ages.

'Miracle'

3. Miracle (2004)

We’ve seen so many sports biopics over the years that it’s rare for one to really stand out. Miracle is based on one of the most inspiring true stories in the history of athletics, the triumph of the U.S. men’s hockey team over the Soviet team at the 1980 Olympics during the Cold War. The strength of the true life story, along with some muscular direction by Gavin O’Connor (FX’s The Americans) and touching performances (from Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson and others), elevate Miracle to something that’s just plain lovable and exciting to watch. Miracle is compelling and patriotic entertainment for all ages.

42 (Warner Bros.)

4. 42 (2013)

It took decades for Jackie Robinson‘s life story to finally arrive on the big screen. In the 1990s, Spike Lee developed a project with Denzel Washington in talks to star as the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. This eventually fell through, as did a project Robert Redford was producing in the early 2000s. Ultimately, Oscar-winning writer/director Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential, Mystic River) made the biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey, the sports exec who signed him. Robinson’s widow, Rachel Robinson, was involved in making 42; she was quite pleased with the finished product.

Dangal (Disney)

5. Dangal (2016)

If you’ve never seen a Bollywood movie and you’re curious, this Disney-released family sports drama could be the perfect place to start. Based on the true story of an amateur wrestler who trained his daughtersto become India’s first world-class female champions in the sport, Dangal works for American audiences because much of it is comfortably familiar. Not uncommon for Bollywood, Dangal runs nearly three hours long with an intermission—and there are a few musical numbers. At the same time, this is a feel-good sports triumph in the vein of Miracle and Rudy, easy to connect with thanks to sympathetic, well-developed characters and strong performances.

Following its Christmas 2016 release, Dangal became not only the highest-grossing Indian film ever; it was 2017’s top-earning sports film worldwide to boot.

My Life as a Zucchini (Praesens-Film)

6. My Life as a Zucchini (Ma vie de courgette, 2016)

Claude Barras‘ visually breathtaking stop-motion animated feature is more substantial than the title suggests. The comedy-drama about orphans dreaming of a better life is often poignant, even wrenching at times, but My Life as a Zucchini navigates tricky emotional terrain with astonishing grace,and it’s ultimately an ode to human resilience. A Swiss-French production originally written in the French language, uncommon care has been given to the English re-dub featuring the vocal talents of Ellen Page, Nick Offerman, Amy Sedaris and Will Forte.

My Life as a Zucchini was nominated for a Best Animated Feature Academy Award (Zootopia won).

Matt Damon and Robin Williams in 'Good Will Hunting' (Miramax)

7. Good Will Hunting (1997)

Gus Van Sant‘s hit drama is aging quite nicely thanks to a smart, funny script by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and a poignant, masterfully understated performance by Robin Williams (both of which were honored with Oscar wins). This intimate look at an unrecognized genius haunted by a traumatic past is also one of the strongest, most accurate modern films about psychotherapy.

Diane Lane shines in this truly effective winner of a sports movie, about perhaps the greatest racehorse in history. Roger Ebert loved this movie, giving it his highest rating of four stars. He called Secretariat “a great film about greatness, the story of a horse and the no less brave woman who had faith in him.”

Nicholas Hoult in 'About a Boy'

9. About a Boy (2002)

Hugh Grant is in fine form in Chris and Paul Weitz‘s dramedy about a comfy, lonely bachelor in need of human connection. Grant and Toni Collette both earned Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for their work here. A young, babyfaced Nicholas Hoult received considerable praise for his performance as well. About a Boy is based on Nick Hornby‘s 1998 novel of the same name.

To be clear, the first half of Room is as harrowing as a film can be; for some audiences it will be an endurance test. The emotional riches the enterprise offers are worth the ordeal, though. Brie Larson won a really, really well-deserved Best Actress Oscar for her performance as a young woman in captivity.A lesser movie would have turned this scenario into courtroom drama or a police procedural. Room is not about the perpetrator; it’s about a miraculous healing love between parent and child. It is viscerally affecting in a way you can feel physically. It’s an unforgettable experience.

Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller in 'The Spectacular Now'

11. The Spectacular Now (2013)

An uncommonly perceptive film about young people is always something to celebrate. This drama, based on the 2008 novel of the same by Tim Tharp, is exactly that. A tender drama about a destructive alcoholic teen who falls for a kind, introverted girl, The Spectacular Now was director James Ponsoldt‘s follow-up to Smashed, another wonderful drama about a struggling drinker.

The cast list of The Spectacular Now is a veritable who’s who of some of the finest dramatic actors working today, including Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bob Odenkirk and Kaitlyn Dever.

An inspiring tale of real-life genius textured with elements of historical tragedy, The Imitation Game brings the story of real-life hero Alan Turing to the big screen. A few years after the mathematician’s codebreaking helped defeat Nazi Germany, he was imprisoned for being gay. The Imitation Game is a long-overdue cinematic eulogy, and it was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning Best Adapted Screenplay.

It’s just been announced that Alan Turing will be the new face of Britain’s £50 note.

Before he won an Emmy for directing The Crown, Stephen Daldry made this gritty-yet-heartwarming about a boy in an English coal mining town who dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer. The breakthrough moment for actor Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot received three Oscar nods, for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress (for Julie Walters).

None other than Elton John co-adapted this beloved film for the theater. Billy Elliot the Musical opened in London in 2005. It came to Broadway in 2008.

These Wreck-It-Ralph movies are so, so good. Better than they get credit for, even. They both tackle uncommonly meaty themes for all-ages audiences. The first one expressed that it’s our unusual, offbeat traits that serve us in the long run. Ralph Breaks the Internet is a sweet, nuanced story about the work it takes to maintain enduring friendships–which, let’s face it, isn’t always easy. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards. A characteristically wonderful Gal Gadot joins returning voice stars John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman.

Another uplifting animated family film now streaming on Netflix? The Oscar-winning Coco.

Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt in 'As Good As It Gets' (Columbia TriStar Pictures )

15. As Good As It Gets (1997)

James L. Brooks‘s acclaimed rom-com was the first movie since The Silence of the Lambs to win both Best Actor and Best Actress honors at the Academy Awards–for Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. They’re downright magnificent as an improbably-paired couple who improve each other’s lives in surprising, consequential ways. As Good As It Gets won a Golden Globe for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), but lost the Best Picture Oscar to Titanic.

'Schindler's List' (Universal Pictures)

Special mention: Schindler’s List (1993)

Though it is one of the heaviest, most devastating motion pictures ever made— it’s important to mention that Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning masterpiece Schindler’s List is now streaming on Netflix. There’s no film in history that will inspire you more than this; it is essential viewing.

The American Film Institute ranked it third on their 100 Years, 100 Cheers special, a list of the pictures that “encourage us to make a difference and send us from the theatre with a greater sense of possibility and hope for the future.”

Schindler’s List is an unforgettable testament to the power of an individual to make positive change.

What’s the most inspirational movie you’ve ever seen? Let us know in the comments.

AMG/Parade Digital

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